An undersea earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula triggered a tsunami advisory for Haida Gwaii and much of British Columbia’s coast. Wave activity in B.C. was minor and no flooding was reported.
The quake struck at 4:24 p.m. Pacific time on July 29 with a magnitude of 8.8, about 136 kilometres southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and at a depth of roughly 74 kilometres, according to provincial and U.S. authorities.
Emergency Info BC issued a tsunami advisory for Zones A through D, covering the North Coast and Haida Gwaii, the central and northeast Vancouver Island coasts, the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Juan de Fuca Strait. The agency warned of strong currents and asked people to stay out of the water and away from beaches and marinas.
The first waves were forecast to reach Langara Island at about 10:05 p.m. and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. Observations later showed small surges along the coast, including about 27 centimetres at Winter Harbour and around 15 to 22 centimetres at Tofino.
Ferries reported no operational impacts. Beaches in Tofino were closed as a precaution until the advisory was lifted early Wednesday.
Emergency Info BC cancelled the advisory shortly after 6:30 a.m. on July 30, confirming that sea levels had returned to normal.
The Kamchatka quake triggered alerts across the Pacific. Japan and parts of Hawaii ordered evacuations, while other regions, including Alaska and South America’s Pacific coasts, issued warnings or advisories. Reported waves reached up to about four metres in parts of Russia’s Far East and around 1.7 metres in Hawaii, but widespread damage was limited.
